SOCIETY
Cross-Straits Peace
The Chinese mainland said on October 26 that a peace agreement is the inevitable future of cross-Taiwan Straits relations.
“Ending hostility across the Taiwan Straits and reaching a peace agreement is in line with the interests of the Chinese nation and is the common aspiration of compatriots on both sides of the Straits,” said Yang Yi, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office.
Yang’s statement follows remarks earlier in October by Taiwan leader Ma Yingjeou, who raised the issue of a possible peace agreement and mentioned three preconditions that would allow Taiwan authorities to seriously consider it.
Yang said reaching a peace agreement has been the proposition of the mainland over the years.
Vaccine Program
The State Council, or China’s Cabinet, approved on October 26 a plan to create a national vaccine provision system in order to enhance the country’s ability to cope with epidemic emergencies.
According to the plan, a vaccine provision system that can supply regular use should be established by 2015.
By 2020, the system should be able to
cope with emergencies and major epidemic situations as quickly and effectively as a developed country, said the plan.
Job Creation
China created 9.94 million new jobs in the first three quarters this year, exceeding its annual target of 9 million jobs, announced the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
The country’s registered urban unemployment rate was 4.1 percent at the end of September.

A total of 235 million residents had joined state-subsidized pension insurance programs by the end of September, while 66.94 million had started to receive pensions from these programs.
Pension programs for urban and rural residents would be implemented on a trial basis in 60 percent of the country’s cities and townships by the end of this year and be introduced nationwide next year, the ministry said.
Leprosy Treatment
A team from Shandong Provincial Institute of Dermatology and Venereology in east China has identified two new risk variants near IL23R and RAB 32 genes that are responsible for the disease, according to a report published on the website of the scientific journal Nature Genetics on October 23.
Knowing that the two gene variants influence susceptibility to leprosy could allow doctors to diagnose the disease at an earlier stage and develop new treatments. A genetic database could now be built with details of people particularly susceptible to leprosy, said Zhang Furen, the leader of the research team.
The study involved the analysis of 10,000 samples taken from leprosy sufferers and healthy test subjects.
Tibetan Academy
The Tibet Buddhist Theological Institute, the highest-level Buddhist theological academy in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, opened on October 20.
The first 150 students include Living Buddhas and monks from various Tibetan Buddhist sects.
The institute provides three programs. Two programs focus on studies of Exoteric Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism, respectively, while the other is tailored to Living Buddhas.
All students are required to attend classes on Buddhist, cultural and legal studies. The programs range from two to four years in length.
ECONOMY
Resource Tax Reform
Price-based resource taxes on crude oil and natural gas will be extended from a few of the country’s regions to the entire nation starting from November 1.
The reform of resource taxes will not impact China’s domestic prices for oil and natural gas, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation said in a joint statement.
The domestic oil price is more likely to be influenced by global factors, including international speculation, the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar, and supply and demand in the global market, the statement said.
After the adjustments, price-based tax rates for oil and natural gas will also be between 5 and 10 percent, up from the previous 5 percent implemented in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on June 1, 2010.
Simpler Forex Rules
China will begin a trial program for simplifying the procedures for passing foreign currencies between banks and companies in the trading of goods, said the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
Effective from December 1, the new rules will not require verification for information about prepayments for goods, payment cancellations or delays.
The trial program will be launched in Jiangsu, Shandong, Hubei, Zhejiang (excluding Ningbo), and Fujian (excluding Xiamen) provinces, and in Dalian, Liaoning Province and Qingdao, Shandong Province.
BYD’s U.S. Base
Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD, in which Warren Buffett has a stake, opened its North American headquarters in Los Angeles on October 24.
The headquarters will focus on develop- ing eBus shuttles in Los Angeles and other big cities, according to BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu.
Hertz, the world’s largest general use airport car rental brand, is now running a BYDmade eBus-12 shuttle bus at Los Angeles International Airport.
“BYD’s North American headquarters in downtown Los Angeles is the latest sign that we are a growing hub of clean-technology jobs,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at the opening ceremony.“We see BYD’s Los Angeles opening as a catalyst that will usher in good jobs, global investment and a more sustainable future,”said the mayor.
Investment-Friendly City
The 2011 Yantai (Beijing) Strategic Cooperation Seminar for Multinational Companies was held in Beijing on October 20 to boost foreign direct investment in Yantai, a coastal city in east China’s Shandong Province.
Co-organized by the Investment Promotion Agency of the Ministry of Commerce and Yantai Municipal Government, the event serves as a platform for communication and cooperation.
About 180 representatives from Global Fortune 500 companies, financial investment firms and foreign chambers attended the seminar.
During the event the Yantai Municipal Government introduced 124 key projects, covering areas such as high-end manufacturing, low-carbon industry, infrastructure, and fisheries. Nine of the projects, with a total investment of $3.8 billion, were signed at the event.
So far, more than 90 companies out of Global Fortune 500 and well-known multinational corporations from more than 80 countries and regions have established businesses in Yantai.